The present invention relates to the production of puffed food products, and, more particularly, to the production of such products which have irregular shapes.
The oldest and most popular puffed snack product is popcorn which is prepared by heating kernels of popping corn until they explode. The cost and nutritional value of natural popcorn are directly determined by the price and quality of the popping corn which is used. The quality of the corn used also determines the size and texture of the expanded corn pieces and the percentage of the kernels which are successfully converted into expanded product pieces. It is, therefore, difficult to produce a natural popcorn of uniformly high quality and there is no opportunity to reduce its cost. The nutritional value of natural popcorn cannot be readily altered except by additives, which increase cost.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,476,567 describes a process for producing a simulated popcorn product of uniform high quality from cornmeal. In the process, white or yellow cornmeal (or a mixture thereof) having a moisture content between 10 and 12.3% is forced at high velocity of between 950 and 1800 inches per minute, by means of high pressure, through extrusion orifices. The cornmeal is discharged from the orifices in rods which resemble branches with numerous irregularly shaped buds extending from their sides in generally equally spaced clusters. By cutting these rods into small pieces as the rods are extruded, simulated popcorn pieces are formed.
While the process of the patent provides a means of producing corn product pieces which are more uniform in size and quality, it does not provide a way to materially improve the nutritional value of the product. As with natural popcorn, the protein, vitamin, and mineral content of the final product is that of the corn used. Also the potential cost reduction is limited by the fact that cornmeal having a moisture content within the narrow range of 10 to 12.3% must be selected for use in the process. This critical moisture range limits the sources of supply to those of known moisture content (which would tend to be higher in price) or requires that the purchased cornmeal be tested to determine the moisture content. While cornmeal having a lesser moisture content can be used with the addition of water, it is necessary to determine the moisture content of each bath of cornmeal before use, thus increasing costs.